


Static

by i_write_and_i_know_things



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Death, ENJOY!!!, Gen, Hurt Peter, Iron Dad, Iron Man - Freeform, Major Character Injury, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, POV Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man - Freeform, Teen Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, also a little bit of violence but nothing too graphic, avengers are not split, don't worry writer has a plan, language warning, let's ignore civil war for a few mins pls, may doesn't know peter is spidey (yet), now this is going to be a chapter fic, writer had a random idea really early in the morning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2020-03-13 06:12:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18935053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_and_i_know_things/pseuds/i_write_and_i_know_things
Summary: Avengers don't slip up. They're a beacon of hope to the people. A sense of protection and security. Peter is one of them, but he messed up. One moment, everything was fine and he had everything under control; the next he was laying under a crushed building, crying in pain.Time was running out, but Peter wanted to hear one more voice, one last time.But maybe it wouldn't be the last.





	1. Chapter 1

The air burned.

Hot tears welled in Peter’s eyes and he struggled to keep himself up. His head spun, and his breath was coming in quick, desperate breaths. He couldn’t tell pain apart from numbness anymore. The entire bottom of his body was limp and he couldn’t feel his legs.

Around him the destruction continued. Shards of glass from buildings shattered and dug into the ground around him. Bricks crashed through cement. Trees sparked until they fell to the ground, crisp and lifeless. People ran for their lives, clinging onto their children and screaming to those behind them until a building wall fell between them, silencing their cries.

The smoke was starting to cover the sky, choking the air out of it. Peter looked up, blinking through the embers that hung in the air. The sun was barely piercing the thick black cloud, only a few thin rays made their way through the gaps. What Peter wouldn’t give just to see the sun right now, to feel the warmth against his face.

Instead he got slapped with a thin piece of glass that cut a deep gash into his cheek. Warm blood seeped out quickly and dribbled down the side of his neck, soaking into his suit.

Weakly, he lifted his hand and placed it against his ear, pressing the button to his earpiece. It beeped and began ringing. Peter closed his eyes tightly and hoped one of the Avengers would pick up.

Although he didn’t really want just  _ any  _ Avenger. He wanted Mr. Stark. He wanted to hear his voice, to have him speak to him soothingly. Tell him everything was going to be alright and that he was going to live.

A few seconds dragged like hours, until finally the earpiece ran out of ringing. Peter’s heart began pounding in panic. He pressed it again and waited.

It rang three times before someone answered.

“What do you need, Spiderman?”

_ Wrong person. _

“I- I need to speak with Mr. Stark, Cap.”

Steve hesitated on the other end.

“Peter, is everything alright? Do you need backup?”

“No. Please. I need to speak with Mr. Stark.”

There was an uncomfortable pause before the ringing began again. Peter let out the cough he was holding in. The pavement below him became dotted with small droplets of blood. Peter tried to ignore them.

The ringing in his ear suddenly stopped, and he heard the other line connect.

“Hey Peter, what do you need?”

_ Thank you. _

“Hey, Mr. Stark. How… are you doing?”

“Great, but kid, you don’t sound good, is everything alright?”

“Ye..s, I just got… I’m okay, just resting.”

Mr. Stark paused, and Peter could hear an explosion and a loud crack from the other line. He took this moment to prop himself up against the pavement, leaning awkwardly on his forearm. The sound of the blasters from the Iron Suit filled his head.

“Sorry,” Mr. Stark replied, grunting. “Whatever these space-mutants are, they’re tough as hell. Peter, if you need something from me tell me now because I’ve got a lot of them coming my way and I’m going to have to disconnect.”

“No!” Peter choked out, fear wedging itself in his throat. “I… Mr. Stark, do you re… member that Aunt May doesn’t know I’m S… piderman?”

The sound of the blasters died down.

“Peter, what’s going on?” Mr. Stark asked, his voice wavering in concern.

“Could you… tell he..r for me?” Peter breathed out, feeling his head start to become light.

Complete silence engulfed the connection between them. Peter heard Mr. Stark let out a shaky breath.

“Peter, are you hurt?”

No answer.

“Peter, answer me!”

The panic began to rise in Mr. Starks voice, and Peter heard his breathing quicken.

“I didn’t wan...t to…-”

“Friday, run a scan on Peter’s suit and find his location.” Mr. Starks voice was now shaking. “Peter, please keep talking so that I… I… ”

_ Know you’re alive. _ Peter filled in the last part in his head.

His eyesight was becoming blurred.

“The tracker has been crushed, and the body scanner is barely working. It is showing significant damage to the lower abdomen, hips, and legs. I cannot read anything on the organs.” The robotic voice answered. Mr. Stark sucked in a teary breath.

“Try again. Reboot. ANYTHING. Peter, are you still with me? Kid, please… just keep talking, I’ll find you. Where are you? What hurts?”

Peter could feel himself drift off.

“I don’t kn...ow. It’...s all dar...k” Peter said, his voice now barely more than a whisper.

“No, no, no, stay with me. Please, stay with me…”

Peter heard the faint sound of the Iron Suit lifting off the ground and speeding through the air. His lids felt heavy and he laid his head down on his arm. The blood on his cheek stained the pavement beneath him a blotchy red.

Suddenly a wave of panic hit him.

He should’ve never called Mr. Stark. He should’ve never let him know he was hurt. He should’ve just stayed quiet, not called anyone. Mr. Stark doesn’t need this on his conscience. He has enough things to worry about, and Peter shouldn’t be one of them. 

Peter wanted to apologize, but Mr. Stark’s voice was already fading away. It was frantic, choked by sobs. He couldn’t even make out what was being said anymore.

Peter opened his mouth, ready to speak, but no words came out.

His arm went limp and he dropped to the ground. He was so tired, and the slow beating of his heart made him sleepy. Maybe if he closed his eyes, even for just a moment, he would regain some strength. Maybe he would wake up from this nightmare.

Peter’s eyes lulled and shut slowly. His head rolled back against the rough pavement, but he didn’t mind. He was comfortable. Suddenly the dark cloud of smoke began to clear, and the sun grazed his face, brushing his cheeks with motherly gentleness.

The connection in his ear faded away until it went silent.

 

A soft static filled the air.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds Peter and memories flood back to him.

“Peter? Peter?! PETER!”

Tony’s voice was shaking and he was on the brink of screaming. The earpiece went silent and no matter how much he yelled there was no response on the other end.

_Fuck fuck fuck, please don’t let him be dead, please--_

“F.R.I.D.A.Y?” he choked out, activating turbo boosters on his arms and legs to fly faster. “What’s the status on Peter-- Spider-Man’s suit?”

“The tracker is still damaged and I cannot read anything on it. The damage is located in the hips and legs, and I suspect that most of it is broken. Readings are minimal on the organs. _”_

_Fuck._

“Is there-” Tony took a deep breath. “Is there any way to find him?”

The AI went silent for a moment.

“I can track his call and find his location that way. Would you like me to do th-”

“Yes, immediately. Continue rebooting, please, I--”

_I can’t breathe, I can’t-- Peter, please be alive, please--_

A group of lizard-like creatures launched themselves at Tony, but he didn’t have time to concern himself with them. In a fit of rage he whipped around and hit them all with one large blast of power, knocking them all to the ground. The creatures went skidding and lay motionless, their bodies twisting in unnatural shapes. Tony didn’t care.

It was them that hurt Peter, and Tony had no mercy for the people-- _things_ that hurt the ones he loved.

He kept flying, not bothering to hold back his tears now. They flowed down his cheeks and blurred his vision, and suddenly, he was remembering everything.

The day he met Peter and asked him to go to Germany. His response was adorable, how shy and unsure he was and the best excuse he could come up with was that he ‘had homework’. He remembered how bravely the boy fought against Cap and the others. The way his eyes shone when he allowed him to keep the Spider-Man suit, and the way they welled with tears when he told him he was taking it away. It broke Tony’s heart into millions; the kid was so intelligent and all he wanted was to save everyone. He remembered how Peter redeemed himself, _proved_ himself and won back the trust he never lost. He remembered the way the kid refused the Iron Spider Suit.

 _I want to stay on the ground for now,_ he said.

But now he would never get to wear it.

“Mr. Stark?” F.R.I.D.A.Y piped up. The robotic voice shook Tony out of his memories and brought him back to the harsh reality. “Spider-Man is located about 480 feet to your left.”

Tony’s heart leapt into his throat. He turned quickly and began frantically looking around for Peter. There was so much rubble from fallen buildings, trees, everything… it looked horrible.

And suddenly, his heart stopped.

_No…_

He didn’t want to believe it was real.

_N...o, no no no nO NO NO NO NO_

Tony dove down and landed beside Peter’s body. He was still, and his body lay limply against the pavement. A small pool of blood gathered around his torso and Tony felt the lurch of grief inside his stomach. Then, he activated his suit again and placed his shoulder under the slab of building crushing Peter’s body, and pushed. It lifted with ease for him and he slid it aside until it was completely off Peter’s body.

Tony opened his mask and suit, climbing out of it and collapsing to his knees next to Peter’s body. His chest was racked by a sob as he took a shaking hand and ran it through the boy’s soft hair. He seemed so fragile, and Tony was afraid that one wrong move would break him.

“Peter, kid,” he started, his voice breaking. “Please, kid, wake up.”

Tony moved closer, gently wrapping his arms around Peter. He pulled him into his chest, gently stroking the back of his head. Hot tears welled in his eyes and he let them fall, burying his face into the crook of Peter’s neck. They soaked into the Spider-Man suit he spent days making, carefully adding small details that he thought Peter would love.

Except he would never love again. He would never get to wear this suit again.

Tony hugged the boy’s body closer, his own body completely shaking now.

“This isn’t you, this isn’t-- Peter, please, Peter, _please_ ,” he begged, gripping the Spider Suit. He leaned back and gently picked up the teen, cradling him in his arms. Tony brushed back his hair and held his cheek in his hand, gently caressing it with his thumb.

This was the first time he really got to look at the kid; the first time he noticed everything about him, from the way his nose perked up to the way his smile lines left soft creases on his face. The tenderness of his eyelashes. Everything. He hated that he was only noticing these things when Peter was lying dead in his arms.

It should’ve been him, not a 15 year-old kid who had his whole life ahead of him. Tony was supposed to protect him, the kid who was always throwing himself into stupid situations just to save a few people.

_If someone died tonight, that’s on you._

_But if you died tonight, I feel like that’s on_ me.

And it was.

A tear ran down his cheek and dropped on Peter’s neck. It rolled down slowly and Tony took his hand to rub it away, resting it against Peter’s skin.

_Ba-bum._

Tony froze, and shock went through him like lightning.

_What the hell?!_

He pressed his hand harder to the boy’s neck. He must’ve imagined it, there’s no way--

_Ba-bum._

There was a pulse. A _pulse._

_Peter was alive._

It was weak, so weak, but it was there, and it was enough for Tony to shoot up and get back into his suit, activating it. He carefully picked up Peter, gentle with the lower part of his body which was twisted and disfigured. He pressed him against his chest and rose up, tapping into his earpiece. It rang a few times before connecting.

“What, Stark?” Natasha’s voice sang through. Tony could hear bullets in the distance and the breaking of a metal line. “Need backup?”

“No, Nat,” Tony paused, sucking in a shaky breath. His heart was beating so fast he thought he might pass out right there in the air. “Peter is severely injured, he’s-- I thought he was, he--”

Tony broke down and his voice was racked by sobs and he hugged Peter closer to his body. He descended a few feet before forcing himself to steadiness. For a moment, the other end of the line went quiet. Then, to Tony’s surprise, Natasha started to hush him and speak with a gentleness he never knew she was capable of.

“Shh,” she started, her voice soft in his ear. “Get him to the medbay. I’ll let the rest of the team know. Everything will be okay. He’s going to live.”

The last line echoed in Tony’s ear.

_He’s going to live._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... I'm back for more with this story because I had a weird thought at 2:00 a.m. and wanted to try it out, and now instead of being a oneshot with some cryptic closure I'm gonna make this into a chapter fic. Don't know how long yet, but I have a plan!
> 
> Let's see where this will go!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is safe, but Tony blames himself for everything.

Tony burst through the entrance to the tower, still clutching Peter’s body desperately like it was going to fall apart any minute. He opened his mask just as the click of heels sounded from the far side of the room. Pepper ran in, clipboard in hand and worried look plastered on her face.

“Tony, what are you--” her breath hitched in her throat when she saw Peter’s broken body cradled in Tony’s arms. She stopped and stared, her face paling immediately.

“Oh my g…”

“Medbay,” Tony choked out, his lips wet with tears.

Pepper nodded and kicked off her shoes, dropping her clipboard and sprinting away towards the medical wing. Tony followed, using the suits enhanced speeds to maneuver through the various hallways until he arrived at the medbay. Pepper was already there, preparing everything and calling over a few workers to help her.

Tony stopped in front of the bed and laid Peter on it as gently as he could. He adjusted his arms and torso so that they were flat before stepping out of his suit and crouching beside the boy. He lifted another shaking hand and brushed away the dried blood from the crook of Peter’s mouth with his shirt sleeve, biting back another sob that lodged itself in his throat. Around him doctors and nurses began to frantically hook Peter up to various machines, each one yelling commands to the other.

Pepper ran around to him and draped her arm around his shoulder, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

“Tony, we have to leave. The doctors need space and we can’t be here right now.” She bit her lip nervously when Tony gave no response, continuing to stare at Peter’s body blankly. “We can wait outside and I’ll make sure the doctors give us updates. He’s going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

She pulled Tony up and he reluctantly gave in, following her out. All the while he kept his gaze locked on Peter’s body, motionless on the operating bed. Then, the door was closed and he stood outside the room, eyes still blank. He felt Pepper turn him around and guide him towards a nearby chair where he was pushed into. Then, she knelt down in front of him and placed her hands on his cheeks. 

“Tony,” she started, her voice calm and tender. “Tony, look at me.”

He turned his eyes and looked at her. Pepper’s eyes were soft and reassuring, and for a moment, Tony felt his heart rate slow down.

“Everything is going to be alright. He’s going to live.”

_ There it was again; the same phrase he heard from Nat. _

_ He’s going to live. _

“The doctors you hired are extremely skilled and they will bring him back. I promise. Everything is going to turn out okay. You did everything you could--”

“No,” Tony interrupted weakly. “I didn’t do enough. I should’ve never allowed him to fight, I should’ve stayed near him, I was, I was supposed to protect him, Pepper. I  _ promised _ to protect him, I promised his aunt, I promised myself, I--”

“Shhhh,” Pepper started, leaning forward and pressing her lips to Tony’s forehead. “This is not your fault. You did everything you could, and you did the best thing by bringing him here. None of this is your fault.”

Tony swallowed and sucked in a shaky breath. He closed his eyes and nodded slowly, more to convince Pepper rather than himself. He wouldn’t forgive himself for a while.

After a moment of silence, Tony finally spoke up again.

“Does May know? May Parker?”

Pepper shook her head.

“I’ll call her and let her know.” She raised her eyebrows just as Tony opened his mouth to speak. “No. You’re not in any state to tell her. I’m doing it.”

Pepper walked over and picked up a nearby stationary phone. She placed her hand on a keypad and a screen appeared in front of her. She scrolled through it until she found the number she was looking for, dialing it quickly. Then, she placed the phone against her ear and leaned on her hip, waiting for May to pick up. Tony listened in, his heart pounding as the phone rang.

“ _ Hello?! Where’s Peter, is everything alright? What’s going on?”  _

“Ms. Parker?” Pepper started, her voice unsure. “Your nephew, Peter, he’s… he’s been injured in the attack. We took him back to Stark Tower and he’s getting medical treatment right now. He will live.”

May was silent.

“ _ Injured? Peter’s been injured?! I’m, I--” _

“Everything is okay now. If you want, please come over to the Tower. You will be let in immediately.”

Tony could hear the sobs and held back screams from the other side of the line.

“ _ I will, thank you.” _ The line cut off and Pepper put down the phone. She went back and sat down next to Tony, wrapping her arms around him and pulling his head into his chest, gently stroking his head. He felt more tears flow down his cheeks, which Pepper wiped away with her delicate fingers.

Suddenly, the door to the medbay opened. The pair snapped up and watched as a nurse stepped out. She closed the door behind her, slowly looking up at Tony and Pepper, her eyes filled with concern and her face pale.

“He’s stable,” she started, folding her hands in front of her. “He lost a lot of blood but we’ve got everything under control now, and we will continue with the procedure.”

The nurse bowed her head slightly and turned around, returning to the medbay. Before she closed the door, Tony saw the figures of doctors and other nurses moving quickly around the room, and the slow beeping of the heart monitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, buuuuut next one is going to be longer! I just had to set up a few things in this one! Still hurts to write this but I have more ideas and I'll start adding them to the story soon :) enjoy!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony comes to his senses, and decides that he's never going to give up, let down, run around and desert Peter. Ever.

_Pace. Sit. Pace. Sit._

“Tony.”

_Pace. Sit. Pace._

“Tony…”

_Sit. Pace. Si-_

“TONY!”

He was finally snapped out of his trance by Pepper, who stood in front of him with her arms crossed, tapping her foot. Despite her intimidating appearance, Tony could see the concern in her eyes.

“You need to calm down. You’ve been sporadic for too long, and you look like you’re about to faint and throw up. Here,” she said, handing him a glass of water. Tony took it with a shaky hand and proceeded to pace back and forth, gingerly taking a sip every time Pepper looked at him. He heard her sigh in defeat and felt the chair shift against the ground as she sat back into it.

Trying not to make it too obvious, Tony stopped in front of the door to the medbay and strained his ears to listen. There were a lot of beeping noises, and Tony tensed at how slow they were. On top of that, the voices of the doctors and nurses sounded panicked. Tony tried not to let it get to his head, but he was already thinking the worst.

Although he tried to avoid the worst thing, it kept hitting him like a brick.

That Peter wasn’t going to survive, and he was going to have to live with a teenagers death weighing down on his shoulders. He took another sip of water before he vomited.

Before long he downed the whole glass, but he wasn’t any calmer than before. If anything he was feeling worse.

_Maybe fresh air will help?_

_Worth a try._

Tony set the glass down with a hard thud on a nearby tabletop. It was harder than he anticipated, but it caught Pepper’s attention and that was what he needed.

“I’m going outside,” he said briskly, his voice raspy. Pepper looked at Tony and blinked, nodding slowly.

Tony didn’t hesitate to walk out. He stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him quietly, almost in fear of waking Peter up. Then, he quickly made his way downstairs, not bothering to take the elevator. The stairs seemed endless but Tony didn’t care. They were better, even. He was occupied with getting each foot on the right staircase instead of with his thoughts like he would be in the elevator.

Tony jumped the last few steps, almost running now, and burst through a nearby door into the lobby. His lungs were crying for fresh air and he was beginning to hyperventilate, and the door seemed so close, and, and--

And--

_You’ve got to be shitting me._

Tony stopped in his tracks, frozen in the middle of the lobby, and stared around him.

Clint and Natasha were huddled together, speaking in low voices. Clint was clutching his bow tightly, twisting it around in his hands. Bruce was slowly transforming back to his human form, and as he was, scars appeared all over his face. Thor was pacing back and forth in front of the doors, and Steve was nervously tapping his foot. Each one of them turned their heads when Tony walked in. Tony gulped.

“Tony...” Steve started, standing up and walking over. Tony almost threw up at the worry in his eyes. He couldn’t take it. He needed air, and he needed it _now._

His chest was closing up, and he was starting to hyperventilate again. He rushed passed Steve, ignoring what he was about to say and burst through the doors, running outside.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” he panted, running around the Tower. “Activate portable boosters.”

 _“Right away, sir.”_  

Tony lifted his arms to the side, and metal crawled upwards from his sleeves and settled themselves around his hands. A blue light erupted from them and he floated upward, trying his best to keep his balance. He flew to the nearest building and stopped on the roof. Tony deactivated the boosters and fell against the rooftop, rolling over and leaning on his back against it. 

He tried to focus on the clouds. They were rolling in thickly, dark and blocking out the sun. The smoke was starting to fade away and the red sparks of fire were dwindling down to nothingness. Tony breathed in, trying to ease his thoughts out of dark places. He shut his eyes tightly and rubbed circles into his sockets, trying to erase everything from his memory.

“If only there was a way to turn back time, to do _something_ , maybe none of this would’ve happened. Maybe Peter wouldn’t be on his deathbed, maybe I would’ve been able to save him, maybe I could’ve made the suit better…” 

He started listing out every blame, every wrong that could’ve been fixed. Everything. And it was starting to weigh down on him like a ton of bricks.

He hated himself.

Close to tears again, Tony hears the cock of a bow behind him. He turns his head slightly, a tear rolling out of the corner of his eye and splattering onto the roof below him.

Clint threw his bow over his shoulder, locking it in place. 

“Tony,” he started, awkwardly rubbing his arm. “I want to speak with you.”

The way he said it sounded gentle, but Tony recognized it as a command. Clint wasn’t going to take no for an answer even when he was masking it behind kindness. He had no choice.

“Fine, whatever.”

Clint nodded and walked over. He slid down next to Tony and laid against the roof, letting out a sigh of relief. Subtly glancing over, Tony noticed that Clint had dirty bandages wrapped around his leg and bicep.

“I know you’re worried about Peter.”

_Yeah, no shit Sherlock._

“And I also know you’re blaming yourself for everything.”

Tony grunted in response.

“But this is not what Peter would’ve wanted. To blame yourself for something neither of you could’ve controlled. Whatever happened to him out there was not your fault.”

“That doesn’t make a difference, Clint,” Tony spat harshly. “He still ended up crushed, and he’s still down there lying on his deathbed.”

“I know it makes no difference,” Clint started, carefully choosing his words. “But… neither does you running off and avoiding it and blaming yourself.”  
He paused, thinking what to say next.

“He’s going to live. And he will live out the rest of his life--”

“Traumatized.” Tony interrupted, feeling tears well back up in his eyes. “He will be a teenager who won’t be normal anymore. He’s going to live in constant fear and panic knowing that he beat out death once but the next time he might not be so lucky. He’s going to live in this endless cycle. I don’t want him to live like this, Clint, I don’t want him to live like _me._ ”

“So why don’t you be there for him?”

Tony felt a wave of shock wash over him.

“If you really care for Peter, why don’t you help him get better? You’ve gone through it all. Now help him. If you give up, so will he.”

A silence engulfed them like the clouds covering the sun.

“You have to make a choice, Tony,” Clint said, turning his head to look at Tony. “Keep blaming yourself and watch the kid suffer, or stop and lead him through it. Your call.”

They laid there for a few more minutes until Tony took in a sharp breath and propped himself up on his elbows.

“You’re right,” Tony admitted. “I’m not doing jack shit by being up here.”

Clint also propped himself up and gave Tony a reassuring smile. He stood up and offered Tony his hand, which he gladly took, and pulled him up.

“Ready to go back?”

Tony shook his head and tapped his glasses.

“Not yet. There’s one thing I’d like to do before I go. I’ll meet you there.”

Clint stared at him for a moment before nodding in understanding. He turned around and ran towards the edge of the roof, leaping gracefully off of it. Once Tony was sure he was gone, he spoke up.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., pull up the Baby Book Protocol.”

_“Of course, Sir.”_

A bunch of screens flashed in front of him, and he looked at them with a pained fondness. He raised his hand and clicked on the nearest one, pulling up a video of Peter. He was working in his lab, focussing hard on attaching two metal plates together to form a connector to a circuit. He had the screwdriver in his hand and was twisting it slowly, trying his best to not offset the balance on the screw. Once he was done he placed the connector on the table, crossing his fingers and muttering silent pleas for his contraption to work. He flipped a switch and the entire circuit lit up with a neon blue light that filled the room. Tony smiled as he watched his face beam in a bright smile and a laugh of victory erupt from him.

_“Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark, look! I figured it out, I got it to work!”_

The video ended with Peter writing down some things in his notebook and closing it, still smiling brighter than the circuit in front of him. The video ended with the last frame paused.

“Rename this to the Rickroll Protocol.”

The new name flashed in front of Tony and he closed the tab, tapping his glasses to turn them off. He activated his portable boosters and swooped down until he got back to the entrance to the Avengers Tower. Slowly, he pushed open the doors and stepped inside. Everyone was scattered throughout the room, but one particular person stood out to Tony; a nurse stood in the middle of the room, nervously looking around. When her eyes landed on Tony she quickly rushed over.

“Mr. Stark, sir, the procedure went well and Mr. Parker is stabilized. Thanks to his increased healing he is starting to recover faster than a normal human. He is waking up right now and has been asking to see you.”

Tony didn’t need to be told twice at this point. He followed the nurse upstairs, but the entire time there she was jittery and seemed nervous. Tony decided to brush it off as medical shock.

Yet, he couldn’t shake the thought creeping into his mind that she was hiding something else from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AIDUGUDFGADIU I'M SO SORRY FOR DISAPPEARING FOR LIKE TWO WEEKS I GOT REALLY BUSY AND HAD ZERO MOTIVATION/TIME TO WRITE, BUT HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! I'll try to get the next one out sooner, ahhhhhh but I hope you still enjoyed! Lots of hugs coming up in the next one, I promise!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter wakes up and begins to remember what happened before he blacked out.

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. _

Everything hurt.

Peter opened his eyes groggily. The ceiling spun above him and his head pounded with exhaustion.

_ What happened? _

He looked around. He was in a medbay, lying in a hospital bed, wearing a thin hospital gown. A heart monitor was beeping next to him, slowly picking up speed as he woke up. There was a small nightstand and he noticed that his suit was stuffed in one of the drawers. How long had he been like this?

_ Ow… _

Peter’s head pounded and his eyesight blurred for a moment when he tried to sit up. He laid his head back down, shutting his eyes tightly against the bright lights. Instead, he tried to remember what happened that got him here in the first place.

There was an invasion, or, something… big green lizard aliens. Yeah, that was it. Something like that. He was in school, and they started attacking… what class was he in? That’s not important -- wait, it was physics. Yeah. He remembered that Mr. Sturman was teaching them about electrostatics. The PA system went on and the principal ordered everyone to lock their doors, shut off the lights and hide. The aliens broke through, though. Peter remembered how his class scattered when they blew down the door and ran in. He remembered the screams of his classmates, the fire that scorched the walls and the way the splinters shot against his cheek. Peter was terrified. Not only for himself, but for Ned, MJ, and the rest of the people in the school.

He managed to slip behind the aliens and run to the nearest bathroom, avoiding the fallen rubble and frightened students. He was shaking when he yanked his suit out of his backpack. Peter had changed quickly and swung into the scene, webbing up the nearest pair to the ceiling, making sure to be extra brutal when smashing them.

_ “Spider-Man! Help! Please!” _

Peter stopped remembering for a moment, groaning with pain. It was too much, enough to make him sick all over again. But he had to continue. He wanted to know.

There were four students huddled together, cornered by a rather large lizard alien. They were young, freshmen at most. The alien was advancing on them quick, holding a large flaming axe above his head. He brought it down. The students screamed, closing their eyes and hugging each other closer. They probably didn’t even know each other, but what did that matter when death was staring them in the face? Before Peter knew it himself, the alien was covered in thick webbing, his axe flying out of his hands (or claws, rather) in the opposite direction. 

Straight at Peter.

_ Shit! _

It was a moment's reaction time. He dodged quickly, swinging to another wall, but the axe got caught on his webbing, burning through it with ease and soon he was falling to the ground. Then, he felt the weight of someone else grabbing onto him and sliding back against his momentum. Peter was ready to shoot another web, thinking it was another one of the aliens.

_ “Jeez, kid, I never thought you’d be this heavy!” _

Peter looked up shocked for a moment, not expecting these creatures to be speaking to him. Except it wasn’t the disgusting face of a lizard man he was looking at. It was Clint Barton, Hawkeye. Peter immediately lowered his arm and felt his face heat below his mask. Clint lowered him until Peter was back on his feet. Clint grabbed a handful of arrows and cocked them on his bow, pulling it back and shooting, nailing six aliens in their heads. They all fell to the ground with hollow thuds, and in that moment Peter mentally noted to himself to never mess with Clint. 

_ “Go, Spider-Man,”  _ Clint said to him, grabbing more arrows and managing a small smile of determination.  _ “We’ve got it covered. We’ll get everyone here to safety.” _

Peter nodded and sent up a web, sticking himself to the ceiling. He was about to push off and swing out through a large opening in the walls, but stopped for a moment.

_ Wait, ‘we’? Who else is here? _

His question was answered quickly when a stream of bullets flew past him, lodging themselves into more of the alien creatures. Peter almost jumped when a figure landed near him, crouching low and reloading her guns with more bullets.

Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow. 

She leapt up and nodded to Clint. They pressed their backs to each other and began firing off synchronized attacks of bullets and arrows. Peter was amazed at how well the two assassins worked together, but he’d already lingered too long and needed to get out. He pushed off the ground and swung out of the school.

Outside it was worse than he thought. The sky was red, choked with thick clouds of smoke and fire embers. Peter swallowed back his fear and hesitation, forcing himself to keep moving. Looking for people to save. Looking for another of the Avengers, however many there were. He didn’t know.

_ “Uh… Karen?”  _ He remembered saying while dodging a stray ball of fire.

_ “Welcome back, Spider-Man. How may I help you?” _

_ “Do you know if any of the Avengers are online right now?” _

There was a small pause as Karen was sifting through the databases. A bunch of screens appeared in front of Peter’s face.

_ “Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America, Thor, and Dr. Strange. Do you need to get in contact with any of them?” _

Peter let out a sigh of relief knowing that everyone was slowly starting to integrate themselves into battle. He wondered for a second why Iron Man wasn’t there yet, but figured he’d be coming soon. 

_ “Not now. Just wanted to know who was fighting. Thanks, Karen!” _

_ “Anytime, Pet- I mean, Spider-Man.” _

Peter held back a small smile. He told his AI that he wanted to be called by his superhero name when he was in battle, and he liked that she was making the effort. 

He swung around a large building that was falling into shambles. Below him people were screaming and running. Peter changed his course and swooped down, sending streams of webs to the falling debris, trying his best to get it out of the way. He managed to gather most of it up, but even with his super strength it was starting to weigh on him. Heavily. He had to drop it, but he didn’t know where. Everywhere there were people running, screaming, holding their children and crying. There was no open space.

_ “Uh, hey, Karen? This thing is really heavy and I don’t know what to do with it?” _

Peter felt his grip start to slip, and the tension in the webs grow.

_ “Start swinging to the right,”  _ Karen started. A bunch of screens flashed in front of Peter’s face, and he saw a red trajectory line.  _ “Behind this building is a small landfill. Nobody is there, and you can safely throw the debris over to it. I’ll help you time it.” _

Peter nodded and tightened his fingers around the webbing. With the little strength he had left he began to swing, slowly at first, until he started to pick up speed. He kept looking at the screen with the line of trajectory in front of him, waiting until he was in the perfect position to let go.

He swung…

And swung…

_ “Now, Spider-Man!” _

Peter closed his eyes and used his remaining bit of strength to reel back his arm and let go of the debris. It sailed above the building and soon after he heard the splitting thud of it hitting the landfill. He breathed out in relief, relaxing his arms. He dropped down and crouched, his arms shaking from being strained so much.

_ Crack. _

Peter snapped his head up, eyes widening with fear.

_ Crrraaaccckkkkkkk. _

Above him the  _ entire wall  _ of the building was falling. Peter jumped up and turned around frantically, trying to find a place to escape. He ran in the opposite direction, only to be met with more dangerous falling debris.

_ Nonononono, not today, not today! _

It was coming so fast. Too fast for Peter to move. There was nowhere  _ to _ move. 

He sent out a web upwards out of desperation, hoping it would catch onto something, anything stable. It grabbed onto a piece of the wall, but before Peter could swing the piece was smashed onto the ground next to him.

_ Shit shit shit… _

The wall was already falling, but Peter felt as if everything was happening in slow motion. He had nowhere to go, nothing to protect himself with, nobody to save him. It would be over by the time he reached his hand up to the earpiece to call for help.

This was it.

This is how it ends.

Peter backed away as far as he could, cornered like a frightened puppy. He thought back to all the school drills he did for tornadoes and earthquakes. Was this similar? Peter didn’t care. Instinct took over and he rolled himself into a ball, put his hand over his neck and head, and prepared for impact to come.

He waited.

And waited.

But it didn’t come.

He opened his eyes slowly and dared to look behind him. Did it miss him? He didn’t even hear it hit the ground.

Above him the building was still intact, floating in mid air. But it was  _ glowing.  _ A red mist surrounded it, and the falling buildings around him like a ring.

Peter turned around, and saw her standing in the middle of the plaza, hands bent against the power she was using, eyes glowing redder than he’d ever seen them before.

Wanda Maximoff, Scarlet Witch.

Peter let out the loudest sigh of relief, sliding to the ground and placing his hand against his beating heart. If Wanda wasn’t so focused Peter would’ve ran up and hugged her. 

Instead, he ran out of the way of the falling debris, looking around where to go. He needed to get out of here. Just as he was about to latch onto a nearby lamp post, he heard faint cries and whimpers coming behind him from the alley. Any normal human wouldn’t have been able to hear them, but Peter had enhanced hearing. Without second thought he turned around and ran back.

Approaching the alley he saw three children huddled together; two girls and a boy. Their faces were wet with tears and they were bruised. Peter felt his stomach lurch for a second. A large piece of building that Wanda was holding up was looming above them.

Peter crept forward, slowly, reaching out his hand and speaking as softly as he could.

_ “Hey, hey, everything’s going to be alright, don’t worry… I’m here.” _

The children whimpered when he came by. Peter crouched down and got to their eye level. He held out his hands.

_ “Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here safe and sound, nothing will happen to you while you’re with me. I’ll keep you all safe.” _

The girl closest to him looked at the other girl, and then the boy. She hesitated, but let go of them and stumbled into Peter’s arms. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her close, protectively. He motioned with his other arm to the children, and they also stumbled into him, shaking and scared. Peter tightened his grip on all of them and stood up. The boy wrapped his arms around Peter’s neck, and the two girls gripped his forearms and suit. Peter smiled under his mask.

He turned around and began walking out from underneath the wall of brick, slowly so he wouldn’t startle the kids that clung onto him for dear life.

_ “I’m going to take you all on a little swing, but don’t worry, it’s nothing scary. I’ve got you. You’re all very brave.” _

He moved his arm and positioned his hand to a lamp post. It stuck and he checked the tension.

_ “Alright,”  _ he started, turning to the kids.  _ “Everyone ready? This will be fun, I promise! Hold on tight!” _

The children slowly nodded and clung tighter. Peter leaned back on his legs and pushed off, swinging across the plaza and to the next lamp post, or what was left of any of them. He kept up this rhythmic pattern until he got to an area where there were police officers and firemen. Peter dropped down next to them and lowered himself to the ground, slowly uncurling his arms. The children let go of him and stepped back. They huddled together, and one of the girls (who looked to be the oldest), placed her arms protectively around the other two.

_ “Th-thank you, Spider-Man. Thank you.”  _ She said, before a police officer came and started talking to them. Once Peter was sure they were safe, he gave them all one more wave and swung away, faster this time. It was only now that he noticed how many buildings Wanda was holding up. There were so many.

Suddenly, the hairs on his arms and neck rose.

_ What the… fuck? _

He stopped on top of a lamp post and looked around, trying to find what set off his Spider-Sense. 

And then he saw it.

A small group of lizard aliens were running full force towards Wanda, huge weapons held in hand. Peter leaped off of his lamp post and swung towards her.

_ “WANDA, LOOK OUT!”  _ He screamed, willing himself to go faster. If only he could reach her in time… 

But it was no use. She couldn’t react quickly enough, and even if she tried, she would have to risk letting go of half the buildings she was holding up. Peter watched mid swing as the aliens pummeled into her, skidding into the ground. Wanda was taken by surprise.

Her hands dropped.

Her eyes stopped glowing.

And Peter felt the weight of brick and stone push him into the ground.

  
  
  


That’s all he could remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M ALIVE AND BACK WITH SOME MORE ANGST!!! Cue the previous chapter where my end notes said "I'lL tRy tO gEt tHe NexT ChApTer OuT soOnEr" and then I proceeded to disappear off the face of the Earth for like six months. I was applying to loooaadsss of colleges in those months though, and I had to take a little break from writing; but now that that's all over, I can spend some more time writing fanfics! (Or avoiding writing my 8-page English essay in this case lmao). 
> 
> Here's the next part, and I'll try to have the next one finished at the end of the month! I have a few scholarships and school competitions going on in February, but I wanted to post something today, just for the heck of it :)
> 
> Enjoy! Please leave Kudos and comments if you liked it <3

**Author's Note:**

> It's okay, I was crying too when I wrote this *insert free box of tissues here* but I wanted to experiment with some death scenes and emotions and here's what came of it. As always, I wrote this at midnight because my finals were over and I had the whole day/night to myself. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Please leave some comments and Kudos if you did, I'd really appreciate it! :D


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